


With This Ring

by clgfanfic



Category: War of the Worlds (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Het
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-12
Updated: 2012-11-12
Packaged: 2017-11-18 13:25:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/561549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clgfanfic/pseuds/clgfanfic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Paul and Suzanne marry in this AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	With This Ring

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published in the zine Business Associates #1 under the pen name Angelica Cooper-Smith.

_"Nervous, Colonel?"_

 

          Colonel Paul Ironhorse tugged his dress uniform jacket down for the tenth time in two minutes, prompting a smile from Harrison Blackwood.

          "Nervous, Colonel?"

          "Yes," was the honest, emphatic reply.

          The astrophysicist grinned.  Well, he had a right to be.  It wasn't every day a man got married.  Harrison had seen Suzanne earlier, and she was equally anxious.

          "She looked marvelous," Blackwood told the colonel, hoping to take his mind off the waiting.  Elegant might be a better description of the woman in the cream colored dress she'd chosen for the ceremony.

          "I'm sure," Ironhorse replied, pacing the length of the room.

          It was hard to imagine that this was even possible.  Blackwood watched the soldier.  Eight years.  It had taken them eight years to finally defeat the waves of invading aliens.  Ironhorse was nearly killed on several occasions, and the rest of them had had their own close calls as well.  But they had finally won – finally.

          Then there was so much to do.  Ironhorse had left them for a time, travelling throughout the western states, helping quell the last pockets of alien and human resistance to the new democratic government.  Like the mythic phoenix, the United States had risen from the ashes of chaos to rebuild a stronger and more just nation.  President Mary Franklin was leading the world into a new era.

          Blackwood, Suzanne, and Norton had returned to the New Pacific Institute, helping there with the rebuilding and reestablishment of the academic community.  More of the intelligencia had survived then they'd dared to hope and now science was moving forward at a brisk pace, watched over by others like Blackwood, who were determined that past mistakes not be made again.

          Debi had started classes at the Institute, still undecided on her major.  And, with peace secured, Ironhorse had taken an assignment as base commander at Ft. Streeter, the new home for the Army's Third Special Forces Group.

          Before long they were all reunited in a sprawling ranch house, and the opportunities for the pair to explore their feelings away from the constant threat of war led Suzanne and Ironhorse to the chapel at Ft. Streeter.

          Ironhorse and Suzanne were going to start a new life together, and Blackwood wished them the best.  He expected to feel a sense of loss.  After all, he'd considered pursuing Suzanne himself, but he hadn't.  And he wasn't losing her, or the colonel.  They would all still be together, working to insure a secure future.

          Blackwood smiled at his friend.  They would be good for each other.  He checked the clock sitting on the Chaplin's desk.  It was time.

          "Paul."

          Ironhorse stopped his relentless prowl.  "Something wrong, Doctor?"

          "No, nothing's wrong, Colonel," Harrison reassured the man.

          "Easy for you to say, Doctor.  You're not getting hitched."

          "Why, Colonel, I do believe I've found a mission that has you rattled."

          Ironhorse chuckled nervously.  "I guess you have."

          "It's time."

          "Time?" the colonel questioned.

          Blackwood leveled the soldier with a long-suffering look.  "It's time to go to the chapel."

          "Oh," Ironhorse said, tugging the jacket down one last time.  "Lead the way, Doctor."

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          He wondered now why he'd been so nervous, then realized he was rubbing his sweat-dampened palms on the sides of his dress uniform pants.

          Suzanne giggled.

          "What?" he asked, his head coming up sharply, and his black eyes locking on her hazel.

          "Nothing," she lied unconvincingly.

          He scowled at her but there was no sting to it.  Blackwood had been right, she did look beautiful in the low-cut, cream-colored dress.  "Is it that obvious?" he asked.

          She nodded.  "But I don't know why you're nervous, Paul," she said, moving to stand in front of him, and reaching out, slowly unbuttoned his uniform jacket.  "It's not like we haven't made love before."

          He blushed, and reached up to brush back a strand of hair that had escaped her carefully arranged design.  "No, it's not that.  It's…"  He trailed off into a chuckle, a deep throaty sound that kindled her growing desire.  "I guess I'm nervous because I haven't been married before.  I'm a little old to be starting over."

          "Not 'starting over,'" she told him as he slipped out of the now unfastened jacket, his medals tinkling as he did.  "Starting anew."

          He nodded seriously.  "I like that."

          "Besides, you hardly qualify as old, Paul."

          "Hmm," he replied, leaning forward to kiss her bare neck.  "I can see you're going to do wonders for my ego."

          Her arms slid around his waist, fingernails tracing along his backbone.  "I better do wonders for more than your ego."

          He let his fingers slip into her hair, pulling it free of the few strategically placed pins that held it up and sent it cascading over his arms.  His hands still on her neck, he pulled her to him.

          Her lips tasted the same, sweet and inviting.  They parted slightly, her tongue darting out to tease.  He pressed harder and felt her reply, her hips pressing closer, but not quite touching his.

          They stepped closer to the waiting bed.  It was large, and situated into a snug alcove in one of the new hotels built after the defeat of the Morthren.  Ironhorse pulled back, allowing them to catch their breath while he fingered the tie free.

          When he was ready, he stepped closer to her, encircling her with his arms and tugged at the zipper that ran along her spine.  She reciprocated, reaching up to unbutton the neatly pressed shirt.  They shed the garments and their shoes, all the while touching and caressing.

          Suzanne pointed to Ironhorse's trousers.  "Off," she commanded in a good imitation of a drill instructor.  "You're not going to have any advantages."

          "Yes, ma'am," he growled seductively.  Unlatching the belt, he flipped the button free and drew down the short zipper.  His excitement was already showing, and he eased the pants over his still trapped growing erection, then stepped free of them.

          Suzanne waited until he was watching her, then reached down to draw the silk slip slowly up her legs and abdomen.  She paused, holding the rumpled material just below her breasts, watching as his eyes traveled over her body, appreciating her.  With a tug she let the material slid over her breasts and pulled it off.

          In just her underwear and bra, Suzanne looked ten years younger than her forty-one years.  He watched as her gaze traveled over his body, taking in the muscles and contours that she already knew well.

          Stepping forward, he scooped her into his arms, eliciting a startled gasp from the microbiologist.

          "Paul!"

          Laughing, he laid her on the large bed, not bothering to pull down the pale southwestern-patterned comforter.  She nestled into the soft thickness, her hips and shoulders twisting and making him swallow hard.

          Lying next to her, Ironhorse gently and thoroughly caressed her face, then leaned forward and claimed her lips a second time.  He could hear her breathing shift, growing more rapid, and she pressed in closer to him, but he eased her back, his hands beginning to roam down her body, massaging and teasing.  He watched as she flushed a soft rose pink, and ground her hips lightly against the bed.  He felt himself respond, and she grinned, fluttering her eyes and giving him her best 'come hither' look.

          He accepted the invitation, but only after he finished the gentle rub down her legs.  When he reached her feet, he pulled playfully at her big toes, then maneuvered so he could plant a series of soft kisses along her legs, pausing at her tights to trail his tongue to the elastic of her panties.  She moaned, and lifted her hips slightly, but he skipped over the material, blowing into hr belly-button, then kissed her across her stomach, and up to the valley between her breasts.  Running a finger along the edges of the lacy bra, he made no effort to remove the garment, just teased at the half exposed mounds and watching them swell against the material.

          Suzanne was letting him lead.  When they'd first started making love, he'd told her that she would have to initiate their meetings.  He couldn't set aside his sense of duty and ask her.  She'd been more than happy to be the aggressor in their stolen moments, but now…

          Sliding his hands down along her sides, he eased them under her and massaged her back, finally drawing his hands out over her hips.  She groaned, her fingers curling into the comforter.

          Reaching out, he unhooked the bra, thankful that she was wearing one that opened in the front.  He didn't want to disturb the mood for anything.  Folding the material off her breasts, he let her arch up and helped pulled the garment free, tossing it aside as she reached for him, running her hands over his arms and chest. He leaned over her, kissing softly across her chest, exciting her.  He tongued the erect nipples, circling, then sucked gently for a moment.

          He let her fingers comb through his black hair, now slightly streaked with silver.  He pulled his mouth up to hers.

          It was a tender, light kiss that grew more lingering and passionate as he continued to caress her and she rubbed along the back of his neck and into his hair.

          Flicking her tongue into his mouth, she met his and they parried until he abandoned the fight to nibble at her lower lip, her earlobe, neck, collar bones...

          His hands closed around her waist, squeezing, and she thrust her hips more forcefully toward him.  Ironhorse responded, hooking his fingers into the top of her underwear and pulling them down over her hips and legs.  Her legs moved slightly apart, allowing him to run along the inside of her thighs.

          The sight of her naked and waiting for him made Ironhorse blush.  Suzanne lifted herself up into her elbows, then sat up, reaching out to slip her fingers under the elastic at his waist.  He rose on his knees and let her pull the briefs down over his erect cock, then removed them the rest of the way himself.

          Lying back down, they explored each other like first time lovers, lingering over those spots that drew a moan or pleasurable gasp.

          Ironhorse finally rose and pushed the pillows up against the headboard, then lifted Suzanne, settling her back against the soft cushions.  She reached out, urging him to her.

          He moved between her legs, the tip of his cock just brushing against her, and making her groan with pleasure.  She pumped gently against the head, letting it stimulate her further.  When she couldn't wait, she leaned forward, biting his shoulder playfully and spreading her legs further apart.

          Ironhorse pressed against her, letting himself sink into her soft depth slowly, deeply.  There was a twin sigh when he was buried in her warmth.  He waited a moment, then pulled back, nearly escaping, but she followed, the walls closing around him and holding the head of his cock trapped.  He pushed back in, setting a tempo that would delay their orgasm for as long as possible.  She met his thrusts, their bodies moving in unison, pleasuring, giving, taking.

          She came first, the clamping spasms enough to push him over the top and he spilled his seed into her.

          They lay together until their breathing returned to normal, then he rolled off and lay beside her, letting her snuggle into the curve of his body.  Ironhorse knew they'd get cold soon, but for now he just wanted to hold her, and Suzanne seemed to have no objections.

          "I love you," he whispered and felt her smile against his chest.

          "I love you, too."

          He let his hands rub her smooth back, the other playing in her hair while she just held him.  "It's really over, isn't it," she whispered.

          "Yes," was the confident reply.

          Stretching, she shifted , half-lying across his chest so she could look into his black eyes.  "And beginning."

          His lips tilted into the familiar lopsided smile.  "And beginning."  He looked at her, seeing the love he felt reflected back in her eyes and reached up to take her left hand in his.  "With this ring," he whispered, then pulled her into a kiss.

The End


End file.
